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Glite Dictionary
to win the battle but lose the war

to win the battle but lose the war

1 7.1
Get a small success but lose a bigger long-term goal
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : ganar la batalla pero perder la guerra
  • It was a classic case of Romney winning the battle but losing the war.

Examples

  • He might win the battle but lose the war if he doesn't plan for the future challenges.

  • The company may win the battle but lose the war if it focuses only on short-term profits.

  • In the negotiations, they won the battle but lost the war by failing to address the main issues.

How Costly

to win the battle but lose the war
  • Informal
1 7.1
victory
∞ 1.0
hands-down
  • Informal
7 4.1

Surface Forms

win the battle but lose the war infinitive
winning the battle but losing the war present participle
wins the battle but loses the war third person singular
won the battle but lost the war past
won the battle but lost the war past participle

Morphology

win + the + battle + but + lose + the + war

The literal meanings of 'win', 'battle', 'lose' and 'war' and the contrast signalled by 'but' map directly onto the idea of a small, immediate victory versus a larger, overall defeat, so a learner who knows the words can plausibly infer the intended contrast. However, the expression is a conventional proverb using a metaphorical war/battle schema to represent short-term vs long-term goals, so full nuance and pragmatic use may not be entirely predictable without some exposure.

Etymology

Win the battle but lose the war paints a clear picture: you may win one small fight (battle) while your side loses the whole war (war). So it means 'to get a short or small success but fail the bigger or long-term goal'.